Wizard: Starting from the Skill Tree

The timing for gathering cannot be too early or too late. Too early, and the Nightmare Dust has not yet begun to condense; too late, and changes in the moon phase will cause the Nightmare Dust to start evaporating. It must be completed during the period around the peak of the moon phase window.

The Duke ran through these numbers in his mind several times. Three days was not too tight, but wasting time was not an option either.

Within three days, he needed to confirm the terrain around the manor ruins, find the types of plants suitable for the growth of Nightmare Dust, and plan the gathering route.

Most importantly, before the safety house dissipated, he needed to find the route back to the basement.

The duration of the safety house depended on the rate of repulsion between real materials and the Nightmare Plane environment. This reaction was not linear and difficult to predict accurately. But based on his multiple excursions into the Nightmare Plane, the safety house could last a while, enough for him to complete initial reconnaissance and preparations.

He withdrew his gaze, taking one last look at the slowly wandering gray-white lines on the moon, then turned and headed in the direction of the forest outside the manor yard.

His steps fell upon the decaying gravel path, stirring up gray-white dust. The muffled sound of his footsteps was trapped within the safety house’s barrier, unable to reach the outside world.

But the Duke knew that once this bubble burst, every sound he made, every wave of Spiritual Power he emitted, and every temperature change on his body would ripple out in the Nightmare Plane’s Energy Field like stones cast into a still pond.

And those entities lurking deep within the twisted black forest, in the crevices of the gray-blue mountains, in the shadows the massive moon couldn’t reach, would immediately sense the intruder he was.

The Duke stood in the yard for a moment, his eyes scanning the dark forest beyond the manor fence. A thin layer of gray-white fog lay between the twisted trunks, flowing close to the ground as if alive.

The boundary of the safety house lay just beyond the fence. He could feel the invisible barrier slowly shrinking inward at an extremely sluggish pace, not disappearing yet, but time for preliminary reconnaissance was limited.

The safety house could conceal his presence but could not scout the path for him. It was too risky to venture out personally; he had a more suitable choice.

With a thought, a dark golden light descended to the ground, quickly coalescing into form.

It was a dark golden giant almost four meters tall, its entire body sculpted like ancient metallic ore. The surface was adorned with intricate metal patterns, yet strangely retained a warm earthen texture.

Its eye sockets burned with two solid dark golden Soul Fires, not the blank and hollow gaze of ordinary summons but one with a newborn yet stable glow of wisdom.

Sand Servant, Panshi.

Its birth was an accidental occurrence during large-scale summoning, with an extremely low probability.

However, it was not an ordinary magical creation but a truly significant Earth Element Life with a complete Elemental Soul Core, self-awareness, and growth potential.

As long as its Soul Core was not destroyed, it could exist permanently by absorbing Earth Energy to sustain itself and grow slowly.

Currently a Level 1 Peak Life, it was only a step away from Level 2, but the solidity of its Soul Fire already surpassed many lower-level creatures native to the Nightmare Plane.

Maintaining its existence hardly consumed the Duke’s Spiritual Power, occupying only a negligible spot in the Soul Link, through which the Duke could perceive everything Panshi sensed - sight, sound, touch, and even the elemental intuition towards Earth Energy fluctuations, more effective than any scouting witchcraft artifact.

"Panshi," the Duke’s voice was not loud, but within the Soul Link, it was as clear as a face-to-face conversation, "leave the yard, cross the forest, head towards the mountain. Observe the surrounding environment, perceive all abnormal energy fluctuations and life signals. Pay special attention to those low plants covered with gray-white powdery substances. If you see such plants, expand your Perception Ability as much as possible. In any situation where safety cannot be determined, do not approach, bypass first, mark the location, and continue forward."

Panshi’s soul fluctuated gently within the link, conveying not words but a more primitive emotion mixed with calm and focus.

Like a veteran nodding slightly upon receiving an order, no words needed.

The dark golden giant turned around, striding towards the manor fence.

Its steps were heavy yet steady, each step pressing deeply into the layer of decaying leaves on the ground, but the sound of breaking leaves was muffled within the bubble of the safety house, not reaching the depths of the forest.

The Duke watched as Panshi’s figure disappeared among the twisted black trunks, then turned around and walked back into the main building of the manor, descending the stone steps into the basement.

After setting up three defensive witch arrays around, he closed his eyes and immersed his full attention into the Soul Link.

In the next moment, his perspective switched.

Panshi’s vision was entirely different from the Duke’s own.

Human vision relies on light reflecting off objects. Under the gray-white sky of the Nightmare Plane, all colors were washed to pale and gray, and both depth perception and three-dimensionality were greatly diminished.

But Panshi did not rely on light; it perceived the world through the vibration of Earth Energy.

In its perception, the surrounding environment was not composed of colors and shapes but was a three-dimensional network interwoven by countless substances of varying densities and Energy frequencies.

Every tree was a pillar-like structure absorbing energy from the Earth, and the gray-white glow flowing beneath the bark was not light but a kind of low-frequency Energy Flow.

The layer of decayed leaves underfoot was a layer of low-density organic matter, and the soil beneath was another textured Energy carrier, denser, more stable, with a slight affinity for Earth Elements.

As for the air, it was empty in Panshi’s perception, lacking any Energy structure, so it couldn’t see the air and could only indirectly judge wind speed and direction through the vibration of branches and dry leaves as air flowed.

This mode of perception had a major advantage: within Panshi’s perceptive range, the presence of any life form would create differences with the surrounding environment due to its inherent Energy Field.

Even a bug hiding in a crack in the bark appeared in Panshi’s perception like a dark red ember buried in ash, unmistakably clear.

Panshi moved through the manor’s fence boundary. In the Duke’s Soul Link, he could clearly feel the moment Panshi passed through the safety house’s barrier, bringing a more subtle sensation from the Plane Rules layer.

Inside the safety house was the rule projection of the Wizard Plane. Although waning, the flow of air and the way Energy conducted still adhered to the Wizard Plane’s laws.

Once stepping out of the safety house, the real environment of the Nightmare Plane pressed directly upon Panshi.

The gray-white sky became lower, and the air drier and more abrasive, with the flow of Earth Energy becoming more unstable.

Here, Earth Elements were not evenly distributed in the soil, but like twisted dark rivers, irregularly flowing in the fissures of rocks and soil. Sometimes, they would suddenly converge into a small high-density energy pool in a particular area, while other times, they would completely dry up within a distance.

Panshi traversed the forest. Its silhouette was not conspicuous among the twisted black trunks.

The trees in this forest reached heights of nearly a kilometer, and most of the trunks were so thick that it would take a dozen people to encircle.

The decayed leaf layer on the ground was so thick that Panshi’s calves were submerged in it, each footstep invoking a heavy rustling sound.

There was no wind in the forest, but the gray-white fibrous materials hanging from the trunks swayed autonomously, gently moving. Occasionally, clusters were torn off by an unknown force, landing on Panshi’s shoulders, then repulsed by its Earth Elemental Energy, falling to the ground and turning into a faint gray smoke, permeating into the soil.

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